The BBC will air a new feature on Wayne Rooney next week, and “The Man Behind The Goals” has a lot of interesting tidbits from some of the world’s best.
From Steven Gerrard’s “secret” scouting of the Evertonian youth to Rooney’s history as a “normal” poet, there’s plenty to enjoy.
But the most interesting tidbits have to do with Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney’s longtime manager at Manchester United.
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Rooney shares a lot about his “transfer request” sagas under Ferguson, but the real gems -- in our opinion -- come from Fergie’s threats to England manager Sven Goran Eriksson ahead of World Cup 2006.
Coming off a broken foot, Ferguson did not want Eriksson to call in Rooney for the tournament. Yet this was a World Cup for England, and what choice did Sven have?
From the BBC:“He just said ‘don’t dare to take him to the World Cup, that’s it Sven... you don’t take him’.
“But there would have been a revolution in England if I didn’t pick him. They would have thrown me into the sea.”
Rooney admitted that he should’ve sat out the tournament, but given the pressure in England can you imagine the grief and reputation he’d receive from skipping Germany?
Club before country? Hardly.